1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a balancer device for an engine, including a balancer housing disposed below a crankshaft to face an oil pan.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such balancer devices for engines are known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-140985 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No.1-61415.
In the balancer device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-140985, an oil accumulated within the balancer housing is raked up by a rotating balancer, and such oil is discharged to the outside through a clearance defined in a side of the balancer housing. In the balancer device described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 1-61415, an upper portion of a discharge bore provided in an upper surface of the balancer housing for discharging a blow-by gas is covered with a cover member, whereby the discharge bore is prevented from being clogged with the oil.
The balancer device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-140985 does not have a cover member for covering the clearance in the balancer housing and hence, there is a possibility that the oil splashed up in a crankcase by the crankshaft may enter the balancer housing through the clearance. To prevent this, it is conceived that the clearance in the balancer housing is covered with the cover member described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 1-61415. However, if the clearance is covered as described above, a special cover member is disadvantageously required, resulting in increases in the number of parts and the number of assembling steps.